Angel Food, Chiffon Cakes More Apt To Fall

Answer Desk

November 22, 1997|By PERNELL WATSON AND ELIZABETH JOINES Daily Press

Q Why does a loud bang or an oven door opening and closing make cakes fall? J.K., Hampton.

A While a cake is baking, the baking powder in the batter emits gases that cause the batter to rise. When the batter is at its maximum height, it's unstable and prone to fall because the air cells holding the gases are thin and weak.

Angel food and chiffon cakes are more likely to fall from a noise or the oven door's opening because the primary leavening is beaten egg whites, which contain air pockets that expand in the cooking process. When you jar the air bubbles in the batter, they can collapse.

Layer cakes contain more flour, and thus aren't likely to fall unless the cake's internal temperature hasn't reached 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit - a temperature that usually takes about 20 minutes. At this temperature the liquid batter solidifies.